[sinatras]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

I think a lot of it was people just wanting something new and different, especially in northern Florida where Publix was largely unknown 20 years ago. Publix was perceived as ‘new’, while Winn-Dixie was ‘old’.

Eventually the new will wear off of Publix though, and something else will come along to replace them. It could be a decade from now, or three decades from now, but eventually it will happen. Same will eventually happen to Walmart too.

Yup, Publix is pretttttttttttttttttttttttttty boring and outdated. But that's what Floridians want, or so they say in Lakeland.

[OrlFlaUsa]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

I think a lot of it was people just wanting something new and different, especially in northern Florida where Publix was largely unknown 20 years ago. Publix was perceived as ‘new’, while Winn-Dixie was ‘old’.

Eventually the new will wear off of Publix though, and something else will come along to replace them. It could be a decade from now, or three decades from now, but eventually it will happen. Same will eventually happen to Walmart too.

I could see that happening to some extent with Publix in the future, but feel you are more correct with Winn-Dixie being perceived as old/obsolete. Perhaps it was the term Dixie in the name that gave it a washed up feeling akin to that of the actual defunct Confederate States of America. The amazing irony is that Winn-Dixie has almost entirely pulled out of true Dixieland, and only remains in significant levels in Florida, which is not very Dixie anymore.

[boy3365]

Originally Posted by OrlFlaUsa

I could see that happening to some extent with Publix in the future, but feel you are more correct with Winn-Dixie being perceived as old/obsolete. Perhaps it was the term Dixie in the name that gave it a washed up feeling akin to that of the actual defunct Confederate States of America. The amazing irony is that Winn-Dixie has almost entirely pulled out of true Dixieland, and only remains in significant levels in Florida, which is not very Dixie anymore.

I've heard people chastise Winn-Dixie for apparently wishing the Civil War had been won by the South with the hidden name "win Dixie". The name actually came about through the merger of brands Winn & Lovett and Dixie Home. It sure beats the combo name that Suntrust and BB&T settled on: Truist.

Anyway, I wonder what things would have been like if Bi-Lo had replaced the Winn-Dixie name with Bi-Lo when it acquired Winn-Dixie instead of keeping the name and trying to be little-Kroger, managing multiple store names under one umbrella.

[OrlFlaUsa]

Originally Posted by boy3365

I've heard people chastise Winn-Dixie for apparently wishing the Civil War had been won by the South with the hidden name "win Dixie". The name actually came about through the merger of brands Winn & Lovett and Dixie Home. It sure beats the combo name that Suntrust and BB&T settled on: Truist.

Anyway, I wonder what things would have been like if Bi-Lo had replaced the Winn-Dixie name with Bi-Lo when it acquired Winn-Dixie instead of keeping the name and trying to be little-Kroger, managing multiple store names under one umbrella.

Having lived in the upstate of South Carolina, I think the reintroduction of the improved Winn-Dixie brand would have been a welcome improvement over staying Bi-lo. It also would give WD a more respectable footprint from which to start expanding again one day...maybe lol.

Also, you are correct about the WD name origin story. I've never heard the Civil War secret coding theory but I like. All of us employees just always called it Winn-Richard-Me!!

[ByeByeLW]

We sometimes call it Kwik-Chek just to be irritating.

[manau_lee]

I think that all the loudmouths who miss Wegmans should simply return from whence they came...problem solved.

[jim diener]

Who cares about Wegmans? they aren't in Florida in the first place!

[Fredesch]

Originally Posted by boy3365

That's true. The person whose company will topple Amazon, Walmart, Target, and/or Kroger could be in high school or college right now.

I saw that the three Safeway stores in Florida had raving reviews on Yelp and Google. I walked the Altamonte Springs store when it was Albertson's, and despite the dated decor, the produce looked good and they had good meat specials. It was an even better looking store when they renovated and changed to the Safeway banner. Some have wondered if the Safeway stores were really that good or if Floridians were just happy to have something different. Safeway apparently doesn't get that much love closer to its home base. But then I heard that they were basically giving the store away with all kinds of sales and such.

I think that is playing a role in Lucky's doing so well here. It's just different.

A Lucky's opened about 5 miles from my house 3 weeks ago. They are alway packed, but when I went in I thought big deal this really isn't anything special.

[boy3365]

Originally Posted by Fredesch

A Lucky's opened about 5 miles from my house 3 weeks ago. They are alway packed, but when I went in I thought big deal this really isn't anything special.

I feel like they are getting a lot of people who would travel across town to Whole Foods as opposed to doing significant damage to Publix. At least in Orlando, they seem to be staying clear of the neighborhoods with easy access to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, which currently are Dr. Phillips, Winter Park, and Altamonte Springs. Yes. (They have store in "Winter Park," but those who live here know that is not Winter Park proper, but unincorporated Orange County that does not share the prestige associated with the actual city.)

I actually like that they are going that route. A store can't have the tagline of "Organic for the 99%" and then only build in super high income areas.

[SanyBelle]

Originally Posted by manau_lee

I think that all the loudmouths who miss Wegmans should simply return from whence they came...problem solved.

Originally Posted by jim diener

Who cares about Wegmans? they aren't in Florida in the first place!

Hi Hacker and Ride The Wave!